About the University of Denver

A Dynamic University...

In the early 1800s, the fledgling United States was rapidly expanding westward across the North American continent. The Colorado Territory, not yet a state, was a rich wilderness stretching over the Continental Divide in the majestic Rocky Mountains. Explorers ventured into this beautiful and often hostile environment, seeking to tap the fur, timber, and mineral wealth of the Territory.

By 1858, Colorado's mountain gold yields were legendary, however, a small discovery of the coveted mineral at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the Platte River sent a shock wave across the nation and brought hundreds of thousands of Eastern American settlers to the Platte River Valley. A small mining encampment in this valley grew into a bustling township named after then Kansas Territorial Governor, James Denver.

In 1864, Colorado Territorial Governor John Evans founded a great educational institution in Denver, the Colorado Seminary, later renamed the University of Denver. Today, the University of Denver is one of the Rocky Mountain Region's oldest and largest privately supported institutions of higher education.

The University of Denver College of Law was established in 1892. Fittingly, its Environmental and Natural Resources   Law program is one of the oldest specialized legal studies programs in the United States and is regarded as one of the world's academic leaders in natural resources and environmental law.

About the University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Located on a brand-new, state-of-the-art building, the University of Denver College of Law provides all the resources you need to successfully complete your advanced studies in environmental and natural resources law.

The College of Law campus is just ten minutes from downtown Denver, the heart of the region's natural resources industry. Denver is the dominant commercial center of the Rocky Mountain West. Its rich mining heritage as an 1860s frontier town is not forgotten, although it is now thoroughly modernized with a diverse and highly educated population. Denver offers cultural and recreational amenities to suit any taste, with a newly expanded public library, museums, theaters, zoo, and aquarium.

Leisure activities in town include shopping, fine restaurants and nightclubs, golf courses, and, of course, the city's five renowned professional sports teams. The city's temperate climate brings over 300 days of sunshine, an ideal environment for its young and active citizens. Summers are warm with low humidity; and winters are remarkably mild.

Within an hour or two of Denver are the famed Colorado ski resorts, where you can downhill or cross-country ski, snowboard, snowshoe, ice skate, snowmobile, or just sit by the fire and take in the beauty of Colorado's spectacular mountains. In the summer, hikers and climbers can test their skills, from walking gentle trails to scaling any of the state's fifty-four breathtaking 14,000-feet peaks. Other popular summer mountain activities include biking, camping, horseback riding, fishing, white water rafting; or, you might take a weekend and hold your breath on the world's highest suspension bridge over the Royal Gorge, duck low in the Cave of the Winds, or explore the ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park.

Summer in the mountains is also a time for concerts, art festivals, and Native American powwows. Within a few hours of Denver are many mountain towns, where you'll find great people who enjoy our dynamic Colorado lifestyle. Estes Park, Evergreen, Morrison and Idaho Springs are ideal for shopping, restaurants, and local nightspots. Higher in the Rockies are the ski resorts in Breckenridge, Winter Park, Keystone, Steamboat Springs, Crested Butte, Vail, and Aspen, for a combination of skiing, shopping, and entertainment; or, if you just need to get away from it all, you can find peace and quiet on a camping trip in Rocky Mountain National Park, just two hours from campus.

You will find no finer setting in the world to work, study and relax than Denver and the Rocky Mountain Region.

For a virtual tour of our building, please click here.